


Robbers

by NorahLou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, I mean sort of, Possible Character Death, bonnie and clyde - Freeform, but maybe I won't be strong enough, possible explicit sex, possible mistakes on cultural stuff, robbers, this is going to be so boringggggggg, yakno like the The 1975 song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-06 18:05:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorahLou/pseuds/NorahLou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know, we live in a shitty society. There are kids all over the world who are starving to death. Financial crises and all that stuff. Sucks. And we all just put up with it, cause we're so strong... And afraid. And then you've got the occasional brave hearts who fuck the system. This is a story about a girl who hated her life and how she was brave enough to leave it the first chance she got.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Okay so this is the billionth fanfiction I begin, I hope I'll have the courage to finish it. With your help, everything is possible! But first off, I'd like to make sure the major things are clear:
> 
> \- English is not my first language  
> \- Nor is the UK my home country  
> \- At some point I'm bound to make mistakes  
> \- You are welcome to correct me on them  
> \- I obviously am in no way affiliated with One Direction or Louis Tomlinson (is that how disclaimers work?)  
> \- I'm just trying to have some fun and deal with life by writing, so please be kind
> 
> I rated the fic "Mature" because I don't quite know where this is going yet, and I don't think it's going to be all flowers and rainbows. There might be major character deaths towards the end, but that's not certain, we'll see how it goes.
> 
> Thanks for being here, I love you already! Hope you have fun!
> 
> PS: I don't write very long chapters, but I hope I'll be able to post fairly regularly.

Norah shot a glance at the clock on the microwave while scratching her right brow and yawning. It was almost midnight, meaning the boss would be leaving soon. She’d been working in this shitty pub for the past two years, serving beer and brushing off catcalls. She took the night shifts and went to uni during the day. She hated it, but that's how it was. The boss and the customers were rude, the place smelled like death and she was severely underpaid. She spent her nights daydreaming that a handsome hero would one day come and set her free from this hell of a job. Sometimes her dreams were so real that she barely heard the requests of the sweaty truckers that always stared at her boobs. Two of them were sat at the bar, and one at a stained table in the corner. The boss was lazily wiping the bar by the two men, and she knew she’d have to clean it properly once he’d left. All four of them were watching a game of Australian football on a TV hung just above the bar, so she silently rehearsed her part for tomorrow's drama class. Someday, she’d be the one on TV, she knew it. She just needed that degree to get a real job and save enough money to just leave. Leave for good and go to Los Angeles, go anywhere really, and work her ass off to get noticed. That’s what kept her going. Hope. But tonight, hope was really hard to find, and she found herself staring at the opened gin bottle in her hand, thinking that if she was really quiet no one would notice her drinking.  
Then a loud noise coming from the door made her jump. There was a boy standing there, breathing heavily. He looked at her with a half smirk and turned to the 4 older men on the other side of the room before pulling out a gun.

“Nobody move!” he yelled “Give me the money, all of it, and no one gets hurt!”

For a second no one actually reacted. They just all stared at him in surprise. Who the fuck attacks an old dirty pub in the middle of the night?! This kid didn’t even look scary! He wasn’t very tall and he was really skinny. He mustn’t have been more than twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Barely older than Norah.

“Alright, kiddo. You’re not gonna hurt anybody with that. What would your mommy think if she saw you right now, huh?”

The boy frowned and his smirk completely disappeared as his jaw clenched. She had to admit, he was really hot. Norah stealthily thought that her boss was a fool for not taking him seriously, and an asshole for belittling him like that. Who did he think he was? He’d always treated her like shit, showing no respect for people younger than him. He was the reason why she was stuck in this unfulfilling life! Had he been honest, paid her a decent amount, and treated her correctly, she would’ve been far away by now. It didn’t take her more than four or five seconds to grab the old man’s rifle that hung on the wall. She knew it worked and it was loaded, she’d seen him use it once or twice.

“You heard what he said,” she uttered calmly, pointing the firearm at the man.  
“What the fuck are you doing, you little bitch?!”  
“I’m taking what I deserve.” With a quick glance at the boy, she opened the cash register. He threw her a bag and she filled it with bills, taking every last penny. When she was done, she nodded towards the boy and walked over to him, still holding the rifle towards the men. She kept the bag, if he wanted the money, he’d have to take her with him. She was certainly not risking staying in this shithole after what she’d just done. He didn’t seem too happy, but he had no other choice than to go along with it. She walked out and he backed away slowly, covering her. With one hand still pointing the gun, the other reached into his pocket and grabbed the keys to his car. He threw them to Norah without even looking. Luckily, she caught them in mid air, unlocked the vehicle, sat behind the wheel and started the engine.

“If one of you walks out before we’re gone, I’ll shoot him like a pig,” were his last words, before leaving the pub, running through the car park and hopping in the car. Norah pulled away and pretty soon they were on the road.

"What d'you think you're doing?!" he muttered, shifting a little to sit more comfortably while still being able to keep an eye on her.  
"Driving out of town," she answered, never taking her eyes off the road. She knew what he meant, but she wanted to at least try to fit in with him, make it seem normal that she would help him. She could have begged for him to keep her, to help her get out of this life at last, but she didn't want to have to do it. She wished it would just... happen. With no explanation, no proof to give that she was worthy.  
"I'm no babysitter," he said, "I'm not taking care of you."  
"You don't have to. I can take care of myself, thank you very much. And right now, I'm the one driving your car, so you better not piss me off."

Her grip tightened on the wheel. Her whole life she had battled for people to respect her. She had grown up with four brothers and all her life she had been treated like the fragile little girl everyone thought she was. Norah was the tiny princess who shouldn’t get her pretty dresses dirty and her hair in a mess. Norah was to be taken care of in the middle of all these violent, strong, scary men. She had never felt comfortable with the idea that she needed people to protect her, or that she was somehow weaker just because she was a girl. She felt just as strong, as fast, as able, as dangerous and as violent as any guy, particularly her brothers. Maybe this feeling of discomfort within her parents’ ideals had always fueled her desire to escape, to become something else. Maybe it was just in her, but she ended up taking the first job she found halfway across the world, applying for the nearest university and leaving her family at the age of eighteen. She quickly realized that her boss at the roadhouse was certainly not going to treat her with the respect she wanted, but she figured it was a means to an end. This boy kind of was as well, but now she was stuck with him as much as he was stuck with her, and she wanted to set things straight right away, before he could even begin to get the wrong idea.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked.  
“I don’t know.”  
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”  
“I didn’t plan that far ahead! I didn’t actually think I’d get this far!” he blurted out, almost yelling. “But then you grabbed that fucking riffle and took the money and now I don’t fucking know, alright?!”  
“Oh so now it’s my fault your hold up was successful?!”  
“Well, it kind of is!”  
“You have got some nerve, don’t you?! I’m not the one who stepped into a secluded pub at one in the morning with a firearm!”  
“Shut up! I’m trying to think.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. She’d let him come up with the next stupid idea and work from that. Clearly she was going to have to handle his shit. Suddenly he didn’t seem so hot. Well, she wasn’t looking at him anymore, so that helped. He had obviously fucked up and now he was blaming her and she hated that. She certainly wasn't going to just take it. He was just as responsible for all of this as she was. 

“Are you tired?” he asked suddenly.  
“Kind of.”

Of course she was tired, it was the middle of the night. She'd spent the day in class and the night at work, then she had stolen money from her, now previous, job and was now driving aimlessly! Actually, she’d spent the past six months between uni and work, which meant she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. Even when she finally had some time for herself there were mountains of dishes to do, cleaning up this, cleaning up that, bills to pay, paperwork to get done, and of course there was the upstairs neighbour moving furniture around at ungodly hours… Exhausted wasn’t even a strong enough word to describe the state in which she was!

“Me too. We need to find a place to sleep.”  
“We could go to mine.”  
“Are you mad?! You worked there! They know you!”  
“They don’t know where I live! I had no contract. I’m not even sure he knows my last name…”  
“You sure?”  
“Yeah..!”  
“Okay then, if you think we’re fine.”

She laughed. No, she did not think they were fine. Actually, she didn’t think they ever would be again, but that was fine by her. At last, she was going on an adventure! This was going to be so much fun!


	2. Chapter 2.

A few minutes later, she parked in a back alley behind an old building. The windows were all closed and no light was on. It was much too late for such a quiet neighborhood to still be up. Martha, the doorkeeper would probably ear them come in. She never seemed to sleep profoundly. But Norah wasn’t bothered. Martha was a lonely woman in her late fifties, the kind of person who puts good manners above all things. Norah had always shown really good manners. And she always stopped to have a quick chat with the old lady. No one else in the building was so kind, Martha kept telling her. In fact, no other young people ever were so kind. Norah could almost kill somebody, Martha would help her hide the body, and she would still praise her.

“Can you please try not to make any noise as we go up the stairs?” She asked the boy before slipping her key into the front door. He nodded. Whatever.

Norah always tried not to bother her neighbours. You never know when you might need people. So she made as little noise as possible when she was in, always politely said hello, always helped anyone who needed it. Of course not everyone was as fond of her as Martha was. But no one could wish her any harm.  
They climbed up the stairs almost silently. The boy thought it was endless and wondered if she actually lived on the roof, but did not say a word. He was a man of his word, or at least he liked to think he was, and he’d agreed not to make a noise. When she finally opened a door and let him into her flat, he turned to her and stared for a second.

“Did Led Zeppelin write Stairway to Heaven after coming to your place?!”  
“Probably.” She answered with a smirk and a wink.  
“Ew.”

Norah lived in a flat composed of three rooms. When you opened the door, you were in the main room: it had a double bed next to the front door and a small desk with her computer, sheets of paper spread all over it and a bunch of mugs with used tea bags in them. The place was dark and gloomy, much like the pub they had just left, but it was obvious that she had made an effort to make it more welcoming. On the wall in front of the desk were pinned half a dozen movie tickets and post-its with inspirational quotes from obscure indie rock singers. One read: “I’m not afraid of dying alone. I’m afraid of dying without you. I may not know who you are yet, I may have already met you, I may have already lost you. –Stephen Gomez.” On the opposite wall was an enormous poster of some metal band and just above her bed, two post cards: one with Prince William's smiley face, and one with the artwork for the movie No with Gael García Bernal. There were lamps everywhere, two on the desk, one on each side of the bed and one above the book shelf. Evidently she couldn't stand the darkness. The boy noted that the room was small. No more furniture could be stashed in there. In the wall facing the front door – where they were both still standing – were two doors, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom, Norah explained. That was the tiniest flat he had ever visited. He knew there were smaller places in which students (mostly) had to live, but he’d never seen them. It wasn’t extremely tidy, but it was rather clean.

When his eyes got back to her, he realized she’d been staring at him, frowning. His right eyebrow rose, but he didn’t say a word, just looked back at her with a questioning look in his eyes for a while. After maybe a minute, she stuck her arm out with a bright smile.

“I’m Norah, by the way!”

Oh yeah. He hadn’t asked for her name and hadn’t even thought of giving her his. Then again he was still sort of hoping none of this was real and that she’d suddenly just disappear as he woke up or something.

“Louis.” He said, shaking her hand and she smiled. And it was one of those smiles that hides something. Her eyes shone, and only half of her mouth was actually up. Louis thought she was a bit strange and for a second he wondered what he’d gotten himself into. But it was too late now. And if he wanted to defy society and live by his own rules, then maybe he needed someone like her, someone that was a bit bonkers, that took life-changing decisions in less than four seconds and invited a complete stranger – and now apparently a robber – into her flat.

They were both exhausted and as soon as their heads met a pillow they were fast asleep. But it wasn’t even thirty minute before Norah’s phone rang. She’d just received a text. It was Martha.

*Cops looking 4 u leave now*

She jumped out of bed, grabbing Louis’ arm on her way out of the covers to wake him up. She flew across the room and in two minutes she had a bag filled with clothes and food in each hand.

“Get the fuck up,” she whispered “we gotta go.”

The policemen’s boots were making a din in the stairs. They were still on the first floor but Louis heard them like they were on the other side of the door. He stared at Norah with fear in his eyes. With a sigh, she grabbed his clothes, took his hand and ran to the other side of the room, hopped onto the desk, opened the window and jumped out. She landed on the emergency stairway and motioned him to come join her. Luckily, no one seemed to be waiting for them down in the street. They ran down the stairs in complete silence. When you’re really, really scared, this amazing thing happens and your five senses are enhanced. You become superhuman because there’s so much adrenaline running through your body. That’s what Louis experienced at that very moment, and that’s what enabled him to run so fast and yet make no sound at all. Norah was also very silent, but he assumed it was because she was naturally gracious and fast. She seemed to be anyway. In less than a minute they were sat in the car, Norah behind the wheel and Louis paralyzed with fear on the passenger seat. For a second, the girl wondered if turning on the engine would make such a loud sound that they would be heard and discovered straight away. But they had no time, they needed to go, or else the policemen would find the window open, understand they had taken the emergency stairway and follow them down. If they were still in the car by then, they would no doubt be found. So she turned on the engine but left the lights off and drove away as silently as Louis’ old car permitted it.


	3. Chapter 3.

They drove for a long while through the Scottish countryside. None of them had any idea of where they could go. If only they had known what the police knew... Well, they knew Norah was involved, but they probably didn't know much about her. Or did they? She studied in a Scottish university, after all, and even though she worked illegally in that pub, she'd registered for her courses with her name and personal information. If the police wanted to know everything about her, they could. That meant from then on, Louis and her were on the run. For real.

“We should go to England. Or Wales.”  
“Yes.”  
“But not now.”  
“No.”  
“We need more sleep.”

After a few more miles, they came across a lonely, gloomy hotel. It didn't look particularly reassuring, but they couldn't be picky. Norah parked the car in front of the building and turned to Louis.

“Do you think they know what we look like?”  
“They probably know what you look like.”  
“But do you think we need to be careful with people? Not let them see our faces, so they won't be able to recognize us?”  
“I think we've both watched too much Criminal Minds to be reasonable, here.”  
“You're right. Then again, we can never be too careful...”  
“I guess.”  
“Alright then. You'll have to follow my lead. Lesson number one: Always listen to Black Widow. Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. If you play along, we'll be alright. You just book a room, and follow my lead.”  
“What are you gonna do?”  
“You'll see.”

She reached inside one of her bags, pulled out a cap that she screwed on his head, then a cow boy hat that she wore herself.

“CCTV.” she simply said when he looked at her questioningly.

They hopped out of the car and walked into the hotel. There was an old man half asleep at the reception desk. As soon as they'd walked through the door, Norah burst with laughter, and grabbed Louis' arm, looking up at him with stars in her eyes. So that was her plan. They hadn't even reached the reception counter that she was already all over him, acting like she was drunk, laughing and talking nonsense. She did that very well. As soon as he stood in front of the man, Louis very seriously asked for a room for the rest of the night. It was the early morning already, but they were both so tired that they could barely stand. Norah had buried her face in the crook of his neck and was very ostensibly kissing his skin while whispering unintelligible words. When the man asked for a name, she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear...

“Oh, my Tommy... You have no idea what I'm going to do to you. You just wait and see, my Thomas, just wait and see...”

Louis' ears turned bright red, but he got the clue and said his name was Thomas Kent. That seemed made up. It definitely seemed made up, and for half a second Louis panicked. The man was going to realize what was going on, he was going to call the police, they were screwed, utterly and completely, and they were going to spend the rest of their lives behind bars! He was far too young to go rot in a Scottish prison already! But the man barely even looked at him, gave him a key and grumbled:

“124, upstairs and to the right.”

They'd made it. They had the room and the man didn't even seem suspicious of anything at all. Louis could have danced through the hall with joy! He was still a free man! Norah was right. Her plan was a little embarrassing, but it worked. It worked and they weren't going to be in trouble! As soon as they'd turned around the corner, Norah let go of Louis and took a step away from him. He didn't let anything show, but he was sorry she'd stopped holding him so soon. Human contact was reassuring. They climbed up the stairs, opened the door and crashed on the bed, but they couldn't sleep just yet. There was still too much adrenaline flowing through their bodies.

“You know, I think we'd make a great team.”  
“What?”  
“You and me. Spanning years and continents, lives ruined, bloodshed... no. I'm just kidding. I mean we could do this.”  
“Do what?!”  
“Be... Robbers.”  
“Ok, you're definitely mad.”  
“Dude, you've started this. Now we have to go on! Don't you feel amazing right now?! That was unbelievable! For the first time in my life, I feel... alive!”

He smiled. She was right. There was a thrill that he had just loved about this night. It was an adventure, it was pure, raw life, and it was retribution. He deserved it. He deserved to live by his own laws, he deserved to take what this shit hole of a society had refused to give him for so long, he deserved to decide. He was angry, so deeply and sadly angry. His jaw and fists clenched and for a split second, he almost looked scary. But Norah was already asleep, so he silently hid his face under the covers, and after a few minutes, a deep slumber came over him.


End file.
